Has anyone seen this happen on their propellor and thruster, the plastic has welded onto the prop faceplate? Anyone know of regular changeover intervals or can the shaft linear translation be limited inside the thruster.
KR,
Rich
Rich,
This is not normal. When you removed the rotor was there a shaft collar with a set screw installed on the shaft? Or were you able to remove the rotor without loosening any set screws?
We are happy to send out parts to replace the damaged/missing parts. Is anything damaged besides the nozzle and propeller? Was the shaft collar completely missing?
Best,
Hi Jon,
Yes the shaft collar and grub screw were attached and intact. I checked them all and each has some degree of translation that they can handle, maybe 2mm. Cheers for the replacements, how shall I proceed the claim?
KR, Rich
Rich,
If you send me an email (jonathan@bluerobotics.com) with the address that you would like the parts sent to, we can get a new nozzle and propeller sent out right away.
Best,
We have seen the same wear on one thruster and the grub screw was loose. This allowed excessive lateral travel. The telltale signs seem to be squealing or excessive lateral movement.
Initially we removed the thrusters to check them all. But after further inspection we learnt it was a simple process to check for excessive travel or lack of travel, and then just remove the rear cap where the power cables attach; locate collar and spin the prop to access the grub screw. The shaft seemed well positioned with about 1mm extending beyond the collar. (Maybe we can get an official measure on that)
We now check prop lateral travel, and added to operational procedures. If more or less travel is noticed, the collar can be accessed easily and adjusted in the field.
After 6+ months, and a fair bit of usage, I expect some grub screws may come loose.
So we advise regular checks be made…
Was going to post a new thread to advise of our experience, but found this already started.
Thanks for the information, we have started the same also.
Hi Ian and Rich,
You are correct that the setscrew in the shaft collar can loosen over time, and should be checked and re-tightened periodically. A bit of non-permanent threadlock can also help with this, as long as it it applied sparingly and does not interfere with removal of the setscrew for the recommended maintenance. We haven’t had the setscrews loosen much on us during regular use, but transportation by ground or plane can introduce vibrations which speed this up. Removing the nosecone on the front of the thruster is the easiest way to access it.
-Adam